Absolutely. There's a concept I've heard, which is something like "Stop, Think, Decide, Act (and repeat)" In scuba, there is almost NEVER a reason to rush, panic, or act quickly.
For example, in even in perhaps the only "rush" scenario, being out-of-air , you're usually worse off if you immediately jump into action. You start burning through air faster, increase your natural propensity to panic, risk making the wrong move, and risk causing additional problems with frantic or imprecise movements (like entanglement, losing a mask, etc).
This video is a little long, but about half way through, the diver describes how he told himself (paraphrased) "I'm not going to make any movements, unless that movement has a specific purpose." The scenario he described was arguably more dangerous in any moment, than if you added up the danger divers are likely to face in hundreds of dives added together. Lost fin, lost regulator, lost buddy, lost visibility, lost guideline, and more.
If you've got a backup plan, such as near the surface, you might as well. It's more like a safety-drill at that point.
When diving zero-visibility, I often use a 2ft aluminum pointer to feel ahead. It certainly helps, but doesn't make me immune to entanglements or occasionally bumping into something.
I'd add, do it in the shallow-end, where they can drag your head above water, in the worst-case scenario. A really bad entanglement could theoretically make air-share impossible or impractical.
A shallow non-rocky beach with little-to-no current or waves is also a good alternative to a pool.
This is especially true with backmount (standard) configuration. Everything appears larger underwater, There are number of times where I thought I had more than enough room to swim under something, only to have my tank or regulators bump into the overhead object. I generally avoid any overhead environments, but when I do I always make sure I have plenty of exits, and go very slow.
Swimming under any sort of rope/line/cable is a no-go for me.