The moment Eddard woke he felt a strange sense of dissonance , he wondered what he was doing here ,at this time, at this place . The first month he returned to the North, he spent carefree, enjoying his time with his siblings, reconnecting with them. With the exception of two very important conversations with his Mother and Father, which turned his understanding of life upside down and sideways, those were halcyon days .
Even with Mother and Fathers explanations of politics and economics he had to ruminate days on those conversations before he came to terms with them . And he isn't entirely sure he understood all of their implications, the paradigm shift between honor and survival has his head spinning even now . He wondered if he would always assume honor always paramount of his interactions with people then second guess and attribute political causes to them . He wondered if he would ever trust anyone else completely who wasn't Pack.
Then came mother's death and his promise to her . The moment he promised his mother he had signed his life to it . Now every meaningful decision he made would be in the context of his Oath.
Eddard isn't an intellectual , he didn't grasp things instinctively like Bran could , he is not a great swordsman, he didn't have head for tactics and strategy like Robert, he didn't have talent for memorization like some people he heard about . He couldn't lie to save his life, he couldn't read peoples face and know their motivations and feelings. When he did notice details about people it's either because he observed them a great deal or they weren't really trying to hide themselves . So he isn't a great scholar , warrior or a politician .
If he really had to say that he had any talents , it would be three things , one his Stark face , Robert named it that , when he really didn't want to show his emotions he can make his face go blank , eyes turn cold and voice flat, Robert says when he does this he looks like a overbearing judgemental asshole ( laughingly described ) , his second talent, if you can call it that, he can push aside emotions he didn't want to deal with, yes, they aren't really gone and they will have to be dealt sooner or later but he has always dealt with unwanted emotions in privacy, that's why he rarely loses his temper, it isn't because he doesn't get angry or sad, but because he can clamp on them with an Iron grip. His third and final talent when he takes a task upon himself he is like a dog with a bone, maybe a wolf with a bone is more appropriate. When he doesn't understand something he is interested in he keeps at it untill he gets it , there will be no persuading him from it , there weren't many of those before , but last three months changed everything . Before he thought he was just a spare with not much to look forward to except for a position in Winterfell or a small holdfast if his Father was generous, but he learnt that his Father always had plans to give him a significant Lordship and his fostering was already an asset to his House and homeland whose value will only grow as he cultivated greater bonds. While he may never be political minded enough to manipulate his bonds with Robert and Elbert to ruthlessly use them , he will offer genuine friendship and mutual benefits , after all his personal honor is never greater than survival of the Pack and the North.
So since his mother's. death he used his meagre talents and here he is , at Castle Black , as representative of House Stark. Even if the new and better steel can make the money needed for the North's survival and eventual prosperity , Ironwood is a precious resource exclusive to North , North has few precious resources as it is, he needed this venture to succeed.
As if he didn't already have enough to contend with , existence of magic , possibility of Others existence , hypothetical threat they represent , decline of Night's Watch added turmoil to already overwrought mind .
He needed peace of a Godswood , he needed to pray , to unburden himself before his Gods, like a man dying of thrist needs water. So he washed his face , got dressed and went in search of a Godswood .