"At the time, I thought this just made him feel better about himself. Over time, I’ve seen the wisdom in what he said."
No, you were right the first time. "The good ones" and "the bad ones"? I feel sorry for the "ones", period.
However, I still don't see how you can back up your claims that good employees seem to recover better than bad employees. I don't see how you could know!
You'll be surprised at the number of times you encounter folk you've worked with again. I suspect you're also more likely to stay in touch or hear more about the "good" employees.