Star-Lord didn't need Rocket to rescue him. The truth was, he had originally been one of the Sweepers.
Before this, he had deserted the Sweepers, secretly pulled off the Cosmic Orb heist, and run off. That was why the Sweepers had captured Star-Lord.
But Star-Lord was very good at talking his way out of things. He said Gamora knew Ronan well and could definitely help the Sweepers take back the Cosmic Orb and pull off a big score.
As it happened, the Sweeper leader—Star-Lord's adoptive father, Yondu—hadn't really wanted to kill him. So Star-Lord successfully survived and rejoined the Sweeper group.
The price was that Star-Lord had to help them take back the Cosmic Orb and finish this job.
But how could Star-Lord possibly have had a foolproof plan? He had been bluffing. Yondu might have bought it, but Rocket and the others knew the truth.
A plan? What plan? Just hearing the name Necro Legion made them want to run.
After a round of arguing, the atmosphere reached a deadlock. No one could be persuaded by something that barely qualified as a plan. How could they possibly stop Ronan when he had an Infinity Stone?
So came the emotional speech. Star-Lord wanted to convince them.
But the moment he opened his mouth, everyone nearly lost it. "Look at us. What are we?—Losers."
After saying that, Star-Lord realized something was off and hurriedly changed his words. "I mean, everyone here has lost something important. None of us are exceptions..."
Halfway through, he saw Otto and Peter nodding, but it was obvious they weren't the kind of people Star-Lord meant.
Peter thought, I'm doing pretty well, aren't I? Sure, my parents are gone, but I have a successful career, an uncle and aunt, and a girlfriend.
Otto was even less so.