Bruce Springsteen's Regret-Filled Final Days: Rock Survivor, 75, Opens Up About 'Wrestling' With Demons — and Admits Amid Liam Payne Tragedy Drink and Drug Addictions Are Rampant in Music Business

Bruce Springsteen said he once "came close to the abyss" battling depression during his "tumultuous" early days as a young rockstar.

RadarOnline.com can reveal the "Born to Run" singer confessed his regret in the wake of tributes and analysis surrounding Liam Payne's tragic death at the age of 31.

Springsteen told an outlet: "That's not an unusual thing in my business. It's a normal thing. It's a business that puts enormous pressure on young people. Young people don't have the inner facility or the inner self yet to be able to protect themselves from a lot of the things that come with success and fame."

The ailing rock legend, who is battling a stomach ailment along with his wife, Patti Scialfa's cancer diagnosis, then added: "So they get lost in a lot of the difficult and often pain-inducing (things)... whether it's drugs or alcohol to take some of that pressure off."

The "Streets of Philadelphia" Oscar winner previously revealed that he had a nervous breakdown at the age of 32.

He told a publication in 2018: "All I do know is as we age, the weight of our unsorted baggage becomes heavier... much heavier. With each passing year, the price of our refusal to do that sorting rises higher and higher... Long ago, the defenses I built to withstand the stress of my childhood, to save what I had of myself, outlived their usefulness, and I’ve become an abuser of their once lifesaving powers. I relied on them wrongly to isolate myself, seal my alienation, cut me off from life, control others, and contain my emotions to a damaging degree. Now the bill collector is knocking, and his payment’ll be in tears."

Long before he fell 45 feet to his death on Wednesday, October 16, Payne was bearing his inner torment in a series of songs for a rumored second solo album.

This led a source to share: "Liam was clearly a very troubled man, and these lyrics show it. Lines about having a weight on his back and feeling trapped are fueling the fire of fears he jumped."

Springsteen has been on an emotional roller coaster ever since his wife's diagnosis in 2018.

An insider told us: "Patti is his rock. As passionate as they are about their band and performing, nothing comes before their quality of life. Mark my words, Bruce is going to drop EVERYTHING going on in his life to attack this situation head-on and make sure he is there every step of the way for Patti."

They added: "He doesn’t know any other way to do things. He and Patti have hit a lot of ups and downs after their decades together and they’ve managed to keep their marriage intact."

"The Boss" even revealed his dying wish just two days after he turned 75.

He said: "Since I was 16, playing live has been a deep and lasting part of who I am and how I justify my existence here on Earth. I plan on continuing until the wheels fall off, and for as long as the audience will follow me. That's my job."

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