"to bear something" = to withstand something, especially emotionally. To survive a struggle, again, emotionally.
I can't bear to live in that house, because of all the bad things that happened there.
I was able to bear the long hours at work, only because they were paying me well.
"as best I could"
Could = to be able to.
as best = describes effort. Something tried hard. Did the most possible.
As best I could = did something as much as was possible.
Examples:
I studied every night, I read my text book, I reviewed my notes, I did the best I could, but I still failed my exam.
I didn't finish the race, but I'm still happy because I did the best I could.