Friend's pfp disappeared -- blocked?

Hey, I know there are a lot of "am I blocked" posts here, but I poked around and this specific question didn't seem to be answered anywhere.

I have a friend who suffers some mental health issues and sometimes goes on blocking sprees when things are very bad. I noticed today that his google profile picture disappeared from my contacts -- could this happen if I've been blocked?

He's been really quiet since new years, but i asked him for a 👍 last week just to confirm he's ok and got one. I told him I was going to give him some space so I don't want to reach out and ask if I'm blocked necessarily, much less try calling to see if it goes to voicemail or not. Just worried for my friend and trying not to freak out. Appreciate any insight.