I heard an alkie say (and recently heard an SA member say) that it took every last drink I took, to finally get me where I needed to be in my recovery. When someone with recovery falls again, he either collapses c"v and never comes back, or he realizes he needs even more of a connection to Hashem than before. He knows he needs to stay clean. But it took this fall right now to get him to see that he wasn't close enough to the Ribono shel Olam. He doesn't see himself as being farther because he acted out - he sees himself as being even closer - because he has to!
The idea that he might be rejected by Hashem because he screwed up does not even occur to him. Rather, the question that comes is, "what do I need to do now to stay with Hashem?" And the answer comes back - If I screwed up, it means I need even more of his help than I did before! Hooray! He's gonna help me even more now!