cole comments that"nobody else cared about him, so why should he care about himself?" is it true that nobody else cares about him? even if nobody cares about cole, why should he care about himself?

Cole has already seen that the justice circle has given their time and resources to "care". Garvey in particular has sidestepped Cole's abusive tone and language; he has "gone to bat" for a boy that has given him nothing. This certainly means that Cole should at least try really caring about himself, really try to help himself for once in his life.