As to why, how about turning the tail away
from the pad entry area? Used to be a common situation in the Gulf of Mexico after a cold front. Pax exiting and loading the aircraft, especially on break day weren't always completely 'in the moment' and lots of pads with only a single access point and it could well be on the downwind. A pilot feels helpless watching somebody chasing something downwind towards towards a low tail rotor...
Allowed to routinely operate in winds up to 40 knots, being above ETL was common in the hover. As mentioned, one might have the cyclic well aft, even bouncing against the aft stop, depending on CG and aircraft being flown. Technique was slow turn, evaluating control authority all the way. The real trick was getting the nose slowly back into the wind after loading.