FWIW - once you have a winch, you'll never have a 4x4 without one. It just makes life easy and low stress. It's rare that you can get stuck in a way a winch can't get you out of.

The first steps of going off road are making sure your vehicle is safe and reliable. If you have a 5th gen - you're most likely already there. I would choose a winch as my first mod. Before a lift, before tires, etc. Especially if you go out alone. It's true that you can get un-stuck a lot of different ways. But a winch is as close to a universal tool for getting unstuck as there is. It's not cheap. And many people will never use it. But I'd take a winch over almost any other option for my typical off road travels.