Boyfriend broke up with me despite saying he loves me — does this sound like someone struggling with himself?

I’m F 21 and my ex is M 21. We were together for 6 months but have known eachother for approx 8 years, We’ve recently broken up (less than 24 hours) and I’m really struggling to understand what happened, so I’d really appreciate some outside perspectives.
For the past few weeks he’s seemed different. He’s been saying that he feels “off”, doesn’t feel like himself and doesn’t really know what’s going on with him. He’s been crying about it and generally seemed really lost. From what I know, whenever he’s felt bad or overwhelmed in the past, he’s dealt with it by throwing himself into work and avoiding his feelings. He’s also never had a proper relationship before me.
Over the last few days I had a feeling he was going to break up with me, but he kept reassuring and promising me that he wouldn’t leave me even crying about he’s worried I’m going to leave him. Even yesterday, everything seemed completely normal. We were lying in bed cuddling, telling each other how much we loved each other, and then almost in the same breath he said he loved me but couldn’t do this anymore and ended the relationship.
Since then, his reasoning has been quite confusing and has kept changing. He’s said that he feels like relationships aren’t for him, that he needs to be alone and that he doesn’t know how he feels about himself or even about me. He’s also repeatedly said that I deserve better.
This morning he sent me a couple of really emotional messages. He basically said that he’s incredibly proud of me and thinks I’m one of the strongest/best people he’s ever met, but that he feels completely lost and doesn’t understand what is happening with him. He said he feels like he’s ruined the best thing that’s happened to him, feels guilty and doesn’t expect me to forgive him. He also said he thinks he needs to be alone and that continuing to text is making everything harder for both of us.
I’ve stopped messaging him because he said he needs space, and I’m respecting that.
I genuinely believe he does love me, but I’m obviously extremely emotional right now and I don’t know whether I’m seeing things clearly. Part of me thinks he’s struggling with himself and feels like he isn’t good enough for me, rather than simply falling out of love.
I’m not asking anyone to predict whether he’ll come back, because obviously nobody can know that. I’d just really like honest opinions on the situation.
Does this sound more like someone who has fallen out of love, or someone who is struggling with themselves and feels unable to be in a relationship? And is it possible to genuinely love someone but still feel unable to continue the relationship?
Please be kind — I know I’m probably viewing this through very emotional eyes right now.