Why would a guy emphasize that he wants you to communicate your feelings?

I (21F) have been getting to know this guy (24M) long distance for a couple months, and I really like him more than i meant to. We talk everyday not all day but frequent communication throughout it, and we update eachother on what we’re doing. We have a lot of the same values and interests and talking to him has been really easy for me. i feel safe with him and that is really uncommon for me. however, i have some trust issues from past experiences and can get anxious and pull away when i feel a shift in affection/tone, so recently I decided to be honest with him instead of doing that. I told him that I really like him, but sometimes I’m not sure if he feels the same way. i acknowledged he was busy and that i understood, but things had felt a little different lately, and that uncertainty is hard for me. I told him I’d rather communicate something uncomfortable than pull away from him and that I just wanted to know if something had changed. He responded in a reassuring way but he also said his life is very hectic right now and he can’t promise more time right now even if he wants to give it but he still loves talking to me, at the end he said he understood if i needed more than he can give right now but he kept emphasizing that he likes me and wants to continue talking. i told him i wasn’t looking for constant communication just consistency because it helps me feel secure, and i made sure to tell him that i notice the effort he does put in and i appreciate the time he does make for me. (i didn’t want him to feel like i was saying he was doing everything wrong but also wasn’t going to minimize my needs) his behavior changed that night and he has been doing good with meeting my need since then. he then said “i appreciate you telling me how you feel. please keep doing that with me” he actually said twice he appreciated me sharing my feelings. that reassured me a lot but i’m wondering if he really meant that? I was put at ease so quickly because of the way he responded, it honestly shocked me that he responded the way he did. in my past relationship my feelings were always dismissed so i’m not used to being validated in them. I’m just wondering if any guys can help me out here, does it sound like he’s truly interested and actually wants to listen to how i feel?

TL;DR: I told the guy I’m talking to that I’d been feeling uncertain about how he feels about me. He reassured me, has since been more consistent, and twice told me he appreciates me sharing my feelings and wants me to keep doing so. Given my past experiences, I’m wondering if he genuinely means it or is he just saying it?