No. Nathan couldn't do it alone. If Max hadn't skated as well as he did then the US would have been sunk no matter what Nathan did.
It's true that no one skater can pull off earning 3 spots alone, since you have to take the combined total of the top 2 skater placements from any particular country. That said, which is harder to do, place 1st or 2nd overall or place 11th? Which skater couldn't have done -- placed -- any better, Nathan or Max?
I think Max and Nathan did very well together to earn three spots. I think it's odd though to claim that "If Max hadn't skated as well as he did then the US would have been sunk no matter what Nathan did," which makes it look like Max did more for three spots than Nathan.