Selencia, you can't totally blame his father. Alexander III was not given the special education and training a Tsarevitch did, because he wasn't supposed to be Tsar, his brother was. So maybe Alexander felt that if he could start being trained at such a later stage, so could Nicholas. It was felt that Alexander would rule until late in his life and they would have plenty of time for Nicholas to be trained. Nicholas didn't have his fathers stature or forceful personality, he was smaller physically and he did not like confrontations.
You make it sound like they did absolutely nothing to familiarize Nicholas with the daily business of being Tsar, and this is not true.
Nicholas himself felt he was not prepared, and he said this the day of his fathers death. Of course he felt like that, his personality was gentle, quiet and kind, not the type to just take charge and take over and be a big Russian bear of a Tsar. I think Nicholas tried his best at first, considering his mother, uncles, and wife (more so later on in his reign) were all trying to persuade him to do what they wanted. He tried to please everyone, yet this was impossible, and he also wanted to follow his fathers reign, since it was peaceful.
I think Nicholas truly did his best. Towards the end of his reign, I believe he was tired, worn out, drained, and it did not take much to talk him into abdicating.
