First: you absolutely must get a bachelor's degree in something (preferably STEMish), full stop. It is a basic signal of many positive things that people are looking for (for better or worse). And, more importantly, you will learn about things you didn't know existed. Contrary to popular opinion in some circles, directed study by experts - with recourse to interactive discussion when you get stuck - is the most efficient way we know of to gain deep knowledge in a subject. You don't know what you don't know.

However, it is completely possible to get a position "in a lab" without a degree. I found a research-assistant position, part-time, while going back to school to get a degree (after about three years off). That's one path, and depending on your situation, you may need to move to an area with a high concentration of universities to make this feasible. I can only speak to the US, but if you are in the US, start with Craigslist for major metros with good universities (Boston being far and away at the top of the list IMHO; also NY, DC, Chicago, LA, and San Diego. When I did this in 2006, I had several job offers in Boston for software-inclined research assistant positions I found on Craigslist - without any degree. I was kind of shocked, but it makes sense. HR everywhere is painful, so people with hustle go outside the system to find candidates they want)

You could also try cold-emailing lab PIs. A couple of points here: professors at top-100 US universities get a lot of email in general, and in particular from people in other countries looking for positions (probably same for European professors). Without a degree you can't compete on (perceived) credentials, but if you are in the same country already you will be much easier to hire (no immigration hassle). Make sure your resume is neat, positive (but accurate) and grammatically flawless. Make your cover letter personal, both in the sense of your story (why you are interested) and why the specific lab interests you. Especially look at youngish professors just starting labs. Graduate students are very expensive, so if you are willing to work for $20k then you will be about 1/3 the total cost of a graduate student. Young professors need people with hustle more than anything else (getting a lab started is a slog of ordering, unpacking boxes, and debugging equipment. Electronics troubleshooting, and "I don't know, but I know how to read a manual" are critically useful skills in any lab).

If you are in a place with one or more universities, go to talks! Most university departments hold public-ish seminar series bringing in outside speakers, and you can usually get on departmental announcement lists just by emailing an administrator. If you a frequent fixture at talks, and you ask good questions at the end, you can end up in very useful situations ("why don't you come along with us to lunch?" is the best possible outcome). If people see you a few times, they may start to ask you who you are - and why you are not at the school already.

A practical point: if you go the above route, and depending on your current situation, you may very likely have to take a (large) pay cut. SAVE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN, starting now (this is generally applicable advice!). Some employers offer split-deposit setups, where you can designate a percentage of your check to several direct-deposit accounts. I budget out what I needed to live on, send that to checking, and deposit the rest in a savings account in a completely separate bank. That second account is untouchable - except for tuition when I was in school (excepting true emergencies), and now saving for longer-term things.

To help find a way back to academia, you can get a big boost by contributing to an open-source project with strong academic connections (I cannot stress this enough. you want a project that is actively committed to by post-docs, grad students, and - ideally - a prof or two. Even if they can't hire you, they can recommend you). Some projects to look up: NiPy (neuroimaging in Python), scikit-learn, Human Connectome Project (Connectome mapping toolkit, connectome workbench), 3D Slicer, MITK, FreeSurfer, OpenWetWare (lots of "open"-friendly labs are on here), Neuron (neural modelling), Covert lab (Stanford - cell simulation), Virtual Cell (UConn). Good luck!!