In the days before managed currency and SSDI, people like Cobra didn't "join the military" or "get it together" - a lot of them literally starved to death (something that seems like a joke because it straight up doesn't happen these days but was an actual reality for a shit ton of depression era Hobos) or were wrangled into "funny farms" where they would basically work in chain gang labor camps in exchange for food and shelter. I'm honestly starting to think both of these options would be more humane (in a way at least) than the current situation with SSDI.
Lets be honest, at this point there's no way Cobra could even get a job if he wanted one, let alone hold it. Sure he could probably get a job working at a warehouse or something but he would need to get sober, shave his head, start bathing properly/regularly, and buy normal clothing (and actually wear them daily). Even then I'm sure he would get fired within the first week.
I still kind of think had Cobra stayed medicated and had some kind of supervision/medical/emotional support and care earlier on he could have for sure grown up to be a functional member of society but we're not in that timeline....
I'm 100% convinced that if Cobra were for some reason to lose access to his SSDI payments, he would be more than happy living as a hobo. Honestly it would not be such a big change really - he already drinks and smokes weed/does drugs all day and eats literal garbage. Plus all of the people he hangs out with are basically as close as you can get to being homeless without actually being homeless. The people in Cobra's life would basically be the same he just wouldn't have the apartment.
The hypothetical theoretical homeless saga would probably leave Cobra dead in a few years (if not a few months) but thinking that forcing Cobra off of SSDI would somehow magically force him to "get it together" is completely delusional. He could not do it even if he wanted to (which he doesn't).
