What does 1 Samuel 11:5 mean?

Just then, Saul was coming in from the fields with his oxen. He asked, 'What's wrong with everyone? Why are they crying?' They told him what the men from Jabesh had said. 1 Samuel 11:5 - Modern Text Bible

(Saul, still living like a regular guy, hears about the crisis and wants to know what's going on.)