This is going to sound ridiculous, but is there any kind of mass transit nearby? Buses, even? If so, are there any routes you can take that get you back home in that amount(-ish) of time?

Maybe part of what did it for you was motion and changing physical scenery. Maybe lack of control, knowing you had to ride all the way, uninterrupted, had something to do with it. Maybe it had to do with introducing strangers to your environment. And I'm sure there are more possible factors that helped you mentally decompress.