If you don't want to use the, but do want to enter unicode, then you can do it the normal way. But I feel like the fact that you want to enter unicode but don't want to install a plugin to make it easier is pretty weird. I guess it could come up if editting someone elses code. As a general rule most libraries (including the standard libary) make very limitted use of unicode in their APIs, so you don't have to use unicode to work with the library.
I would go so far as to say if a library requires you to use unicode you should open an issue, and get them to add a ascii alias for that function. (julia standard library had just such an issue opened a few versions ago about the compose operator ∘ and not we have a `compose` function to match).
I would also say internally most packages make very limitted use of unicode also. Even with the plugins it is still a bit annoying to type. Plus often it would be a less meaningful variable name. E.g. why say: θ, when you could be saying `departing_assent_angle` or something else that conveys context specific meaning. Its nice to have the option for when it is clear, but I think pleasingly people only use it in moderation.