Most Selfless and Empathetic Character?

This is something I have thought very frequently about, and have gone back and forth with quite a lot, the question of which character behaves in the most consistently selfless and altruistic way. While I would make the argument that none of the characters were intentionally negative and egocentric, I think it absolutely stands to reason that some were more concerned with their own situations than others.

With all due respect to Nate, I stand by the statement that he was likely the most selfish of the show's main characters. While he undoubtably made attempts to be family-oriented and devote himself to the business, he rarely rose above being put off and resentful of the fact that he had to play the part of a family man. Again he absolutely tried his best, but in the end he always viewed situations through his own goals and inner peace, his desire to find individual happiness and satisfaction was by far the greatest of the central characters.

Brenda was of course hellacious during the first two seasons, but improved significantly as the series progressed, to the point of attending the Quaker service for Nate despite the fact that she had absolutely no interest in being there. Rico was consistently a nightmare when it came to empathy, and Keith was not very good at it either. As for David, as much as his character is adored by the fanbase, I don't see him consistently and wholly ignoring his own concerns in place of those around him.

It then comes down to Ruth and Claire. Again, I'm mainly asking for which character truthfully and entirely internalized the pain of others, without bitterness or animosity, and I truly do believe that Claire was the most selfless of all the characters on the show.

While the obvious answer is of course Ruth, and she absolutely devoted her life to others, it was never a situation that she seemed satisfied or comfortable with. Her entire character arc was based upon the notion of putting herself first, and breaking away from that pattern. I always felt as though Ruth behaved that way out of obligation, and not because she genuinely felt the needs and aches of those around her.

I think of her situation when David first came out, while she tried her best of course, there were still a handful of moments where she revealed herself to be deeply insensitive and close-minded to the matter at hand. Like I said, I always saw Ruth's matriarchal role as something that she was forced into, and not born out of her wholehearted and undeniable need to care for those around her.

And now back to Claire. While she displayed perhaps more moments of selfishness than others, she was the only character who also saw consistently throughout the series embody the heartaches and pains that the others felt throughout the series. I think of her crying to Gary about how unhappy Ruth was, the way she reacted with Nate to Lisa's disappearance, her response to Nate's surgery and her graduation (and her response to his death), I just feel like Claire so consistently displayed the fact that when it came to the suffering of the rest of her family happened to be going through, all thoughts for herself fell by the wayside.

Given the finale of course, the final shots of the series, she does take on the role of the show's observer, Sarah does tell her of her magical gift to "see through the veil," and I really do think that despite going through some extremely tumultuous periods of naive selfishness and immaturity towards Ruth, she also was the character who most readily dropped her own conflicts and took on the pain of those around her.