The airplane doesn't really know or care if there is wind present or not . . .
I have heard this for years, but my aircraft appear to be smarter than most. I can watch a model being tossed about by side gusts or drop when a nose-wind stops and tell right away that the wind is buffeting it about. In fact, my little UMX Radian may be an idiot-savant when it comes to knowing about wind (though it does amazingly well at handling it for a 1-1/2 oz. model).
When the aircraft is in a cell of air that is steady I will agree - it doesn't care. When you have ground eddys around topography, trees and structures, different winds at different altitudes and gusts I disagree that the aircraft is not affected. I fly at a full-size grass strip airport and there is one large hanger mid-runway and close to the runway. With a crosswind it is VERY obvious when a model (or full size Cub) enters the "shadow" of that hanger and then comes back out on the other side.