Obviously if a VFR pilot finds himself in IMC his/her priority should be to do a 180-degree rate-one level turn on instruments and get back into VMC. You don't need navaids for that. The case in question seems unusual in that the pilot actually entered cloud while doing the 180-degree turn.
My comments about navaids related to the fact that the pilot already had a PPL, was training for a CPL, and still hadn't been taught the basics of the ADF or VOR. Like the OP, I find that remarkable.
When I did my CPL flight test the examiner told me to use all the navaids at my disposal as I saw fit, "as you would in real life."