I’m not sure what I should do?

Relationships can be challenging sometimes.  However, communication is critical to making things work.  It sounds like your gut isn't okay with waiting for someone to come around.  With communication being important, it might be worth considering talking to your partner (ex-partner?) about how you feel about everything.  It's important that all parties involved are able to come to a compromise and understand what to expect.  It also sounds like getting a sense of what him and your timeline is would be important.  It may help determine whether you're willing to wait that long and even clear up any worries about how long you need to wait to return to the relationship. However, it can also be unhealthy to ask to withhold from the relationship, specifically if you are feeling you are having to emotionally withhold from being in a relationship of any kind.  That can be a sense of control so having a clear message of communication is important to clarify this. 

Consider using I statements.  For example "I feel angry when I was told I should wait for you to be able to talk about what our future brings.  I need you to be open to having a conversation about what the status of our relationship is".  I statements can be helpful to communicate your feelings about the situation, with avoiding placing blame.  Considering you mentioned your partner/ex-partner is going through a rough patch, expressing how you feel versus how he is making you feel would be important to keep in mind when communicating.  

In the end, it’s important that everyone’s needs and wants are considered for a relationship to work.  You may start to build resentment towards this person if not.  Meaning, you may start to get angry towards them for asking you do something you didn’t want to do.  So again, communicating clearly and respectfully to articulate all the information you need to come to an understanding not only could help with the current challenge, but also in any other conflict in relationships.  Communication is essential to all healthy relationships. 

Therapy can be a resource to help couples develop healthy communication skills, as can be a resource for an individual to learn how to communicate their needs effectively.  Therapy may be an option to consider as well to have further support working through this.