Are you REQUIRED to search for a ball or can you simply tell the people you’re playing with that you don’t intend to look for it and you’d like them not to look for it either? If you ARE required to search for it, can you at least ask the players with you not to look too (to increase your chance that it won’t be found and you’ll be allowed to take your Provisional)? That won’t save you from Old Man Jenkins but at least it increases the chance that your Provisional will turn out to be your ball in play. (this might be desirable if you hit into a large, dense bush which you believe will give you no option but to go back to the tee and hit again ... which wouldn’t be desirable if your Provisional was in a good position.