The chozo were a species that died off slowly; they fit a lot of the criteria for a precursor race but unlike a lot that we see in popular media (halo’s forerunners, me’s protheans for example) there was no great calamity that snuffed out the chozo and all of their splendor. their people did not fall, they declined.
Samus is not born into an empire’s golden age; by the time they take her under their care the Chozo have long since collapsed as a society. Instead they live quiet, introspective lives as their numbers dwindle, seeking knowledge simply for the sake of knowledge, searching not for glory but the mystery of things beyond even their comprehension. They are old, and they are tired, and unlike with her parents, Samus’ time with them is spent in the the looming shadow of her inevitable loss. There’s a different kind of grief that comes with being left behind as opposed having something taken away. There is no violent terror, no fire and ash. Instead there is simply a quiet sigh as they depart for distant shores, for higher dimensions, and Samus is left behind. It’s a quieter ache, muted by duty, and she copes with being abandoned by her second family by turning herself into the bastion of their ideals.
Like the chozo her interpretation of these concepts, of acting as guardian over the galaxy, is something fluid, ever-changing as the universe around her shifts. She has nothing but relics and memories and she becomes defined by ‘what’s left behind.’ This is one of the reasons she’s consistently unable to permanently re-integrate herself into society, human or otherwise. She’s an individual who relies on a foundation and past that no one else has a connection to, and while she works for a better future, she doesn’t necessarily see that future as hers. Like the chozo that raised her she’s always looking forward, but as a result it’s very difficult for her to live in the present.
