How do I deal damage as Rocket Raccoon?

I've reached Diamond and Lord status as Rocket Raccoon main, I average around 20k heals per 10 mins, but I deal 3-4k damage at best (mostly, however, around 2k). Mostly I try to stay at the backlines and heal (if my DPS are doing good), find sneaky places for my beacon, and try to survive when dived or being targeted by a tank.

See the problem is, every time I come across RR posts, I see people saying that Rockets don't do enough damage and stay at the backlines. Now I know that his mini gun is really good at close ranges and sometimes I get to kill tanks in seconds. But every time I look away for a split second to try and deal damage, I see my teammates losing health and spamming heal me button. It almost feels contradictory since RR's are really valued for staying alive at all costs yet I have to risk approaching the fight getting targeted and probably killed by a half good DPS or tank.