Here is what God tells us about Noah:
Gen 6:
5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually.
6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
9 These [are] the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man [and] perfect in his generations, [and] Noah walked with God.
Because Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations, and walked with God (vs 9), Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord (vs 8).
Because Noah was a believer, Noah obeyed God (Gen 6:22, Gen 7:5).
And God told Noah Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation (Gen 7:1).
Ezekiel 14:
13 Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:
14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver [but] their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.
...
19 Or [if] I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast:
20 Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, [were] in it, [as] I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall [but] deliver their own souls by their righteousness.
Noah was delivered because of his righteous standing before God. Noah's righteousness was not due to his works ... Noah's righteousness was due to his faith in the living God. Noah's "works" did not make him righteous. Noah believed God when God told him to build an ark and gave him the specifications.
Now look further in Ezekiel 14:
21 For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?
22 Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, [both] sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, [even] concerning all that I have brought upon it.
23 And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, saith the Lord GOD.
The "remnant" are the believers who follow God and bring comfort to others through their ways and doings.
Look at Genesis 5:29 And he [Lamech, father of Noah] called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.
And check out 2 Peter 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth [person], a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
Noah was a believer before he was ever instructed to build the ark. He was a preacher of righteousness. He brought comfort to others.
Sad, really, that only Noah's family was brought through that judgment which took place in Genesis, where God brought a flood of waters upon the earth. It just shows us that the days of Noah were extremely wicked, as only Noah and his family were spared.
And Jesus warns us that before He returns, For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened (Matt 24:21-22).
So, there is a time coming (and we see it today with our very own eyes) when there will be such tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world. This includes the days of Noah which, according to God, were extremely wicked.