Struggling on my sympathy with Walter

I’m on Season 1, Episode 6 of Breaking Bad, and I’m really struggling to justify Walter’s actions. At first, I felt bad for him and understood why he started selling meth—it seemed like he had no other choice to provide for his family. Walter and Jesse try to sell meth, but shit hit the fan, and they killed two people, which Walter seemed to feel bad for. But then later in the season, Walter’s very wealthy friend offers him a well-paying job and even offers to cover the cost of his treatments. Walter refuses this offer and instead goes back to Jesse, asking if he wants to cook meth again, with the goal of selling it to pay for his treatments.

I’m having a hard time sympathizing with Walter right now. Earlier, his actions felt like they came from a place of desperation, but here he was presented with a much better, legitimate option and still chose the meth route. It feels less like he’s being forced into this and more like he’s actively choosing it, and I’m struggling to reconcile that.

It doesn't seem like he's thinking about the consequences either. What if he gets caught, and all the money he made gets seized by the government? What if he kills someone again? (Obviously, he will kill a lot of people later.) But still, he had a better option that was legal and wouldn't involve bloodshed, yet he chose crime.