You might say something like, ‘While I was travelling abroad during my gap year I found myself stranded because of disruption to flights after a natural disaster in the region. Luckily I’d looked up advice on how to cope with unexpected travel problems before I set off and had made sure that I had all the contact details and documents I needed on me. I had already worked out how to stay in touch with friends and family in case of a crisis. I followed the news carefully and used my initiative and understanding of social media to band together with some other stranded travellers and share alternative transport home.’
You could also say, ‘I haven’t faced a situation that could really be described as a major crisis, but this is an example of how I coped with a challenging situation.’ You could take examples from experiences such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s award, university, industrial training or summer vacation work – anything that shows your ability to react constructively when you’re in a tight corner.