I work this way to a large extent. I have pretty good recall of the whole codebase, sufficient to step through in my head and spot actual bugs while AFK. I really dislike it when people make assertions about what others supposedly cannot do.
I believe this is called "being mechanically minded". If you understand the physical rules and the components, you understand the inner workings. Good mechanics have this. Bad mechanics don't. Sadly being an auto mechanic pays little, but the skills are obvious in good programmers too.