At the end of verse 20, Nephi mentioned how his father—even his father!—began to "murmur against the Lord his God," and shortly afterwards Nephi made a new bow. Nephi did not sit and complain; he just went to work. However, he first went to his father, even though his father had murmured against the Lord. Nephi asked Lehi—it being the proper order of things in families then for children to honor their parents—where he should go to obtain food (v. 23). Nephi could have sought for such a revelation himself, and he may have known perfectly well where to go. But he showed respect to his father, giving him a chance to lead again in righteousness. What a great lesson this is for all of us of all ages.
There is always some subtext involved in Nephi’s selection of subject matter in 1 Nephi, as he consistently strove to establish that he was the proper successor to his father’s priesthood, prophetic stature, and paternal authority over the family. Nephi always succeeded where his brothers failed, and of course, his brothers liked to rub that in any time Nephi appeared to be falling short. It should be remembered that Nephi was writing all of this after his people had separated from Laman and Lemuel and their followers. The Nephites had fled up into the land where they built the city of Nephi. Nephi’s people had made him their king. They had built a temple. They had the brass plates, the Liahona, and the sword of Laban. When telling his story, Nephi wanted his people to know that he was the legitimate leader, and that he knew the will of the Lord. He was not trying to be boastful. He just wanted to instill confidence in his people so that they would follow him as their appointed ruler.
Book of Mormon Central, "Why Did Nephi Include the Story of the Broken Bow? (1 Nephi 16:23)," KnoWhy 421 (April 3, 2018).