But the older guys would look out for him.
In turn, the younger guys were courteous to their elders and would make sure they were first to get a feed from the soup kitchen.
One homeless man I spoke to, Chris, was well-accustomed to "sleeping out" and said he'd noticed more homeless in the city in the past six months.
Chris described the logistics of rough sleeping with candour as I listened, fascinated.
Usually, if I encountered Chris in the street, I'd probably stare at the ground in discomfort until I'd passed him by.
But hearing his story was a stark reminder of a dimension of society that many might prefer to ignore.
I realised some people aren't faced with the trivial dilemmas attached to privileged life, such as whether to buy free-range or battery farmed eggs in the supermarket, as I am each week.
Some people, like Chris, are just surviving and staring at the ground does them no favours.
The most striking thing about Chris's situation was that after three years of homelessness, he now preferred sleeping on the street than indoors, despite an offer of accommodation.
He had allowed sleeping out to become the status quo in his life and seemed unwilling to change.
There was no sadness or anger in his eyes - only apathy. His circumstances had defeated him.