“Took some time off to explore projects. Exited to get back to work.” No answer to this question will be cited by the hiring committee/etc as a reason to thumb

“Took some time off to explore projects. Exited to get back to work.” No answer to this question will be cited by the hiring committee/etc as a reason to thumbs up a candidate; many answers will be cited as a “red flag.” Give the minimum amount of signal and move on.