It needn’t stop you. Keep the leadscrew engaged while winding the saddle back. On larger threads you can takeup the slack and position it by eye anyway.
For a simple indicator you can make a ‘gear’ to engage the leadscrew out of cardboard at a pinch, or plastic or brass to be posh. It only needs the crudest of teeth to keep engaged and provide the count. Just make sure the lash up you concoct to hold it stays in place and isn’t where you can knock it..