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There's nothing that says you can't change from relaxed to unrelaxed action, and there's no rule that says the offense can't react to actions (or words) made by the defense. If defense is screaming "He missed the plate, he missed the plate!!!" and offense hears it an reacts, he is no longer "unrelaxed". Heck, the offense reacts to defensive plays (or misplays) all the time, taking action from relaxed to unrelaxed state. And on this play, the player had been unrelaxed for long enough to almost get back to the plate. I think you need a tag here.
Now, with this kid in the midst of his teammates, I'd surely be keeping a watchful eye on them. If any of them turns him around or nudges him toward home plate (or even halts his progress away from home plate), he's out for interference if it's clear he now intends to run home to avoid the appeal.
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