Not OP, but I've traveled a lot, and it takes me a few days to adapt to the new surroundings. I can't consciously point to what it is that my brain is locking on to, but I can feel 'it' click on, and then I can trust my sense of direction, like I normally do. Before 'it', I can get turned around much more easily than normal.

is this something you’ve picked up from this kind of device, or just something you’ve learned naturally?

As best I can tell, it's just something that runs in the family. My mother (and her siblings) all felt the same way as well, as do many of my matrilineal cousins.