Maybe he was in a trench in WW1 and the fact that he remaine passive during a bombardment (a bombardment being a problem I would say), saved his life because he kept still and didn't put his head up.
Yes, but I was talking about the phrase 'made the problem better', -which struck me as a bit strange, - not his passivity that could have possibly saved his life, because I just can't see these two words together in this context - problem and better.
I can understand how it's 'make the problem worse', 'make the situation better/worse'; but 'to make the problem better'?
Does this sound natural?