(I'm always bemused that Protestants insist, on the one hand, that works have nothing to do with salvation, and on the other, seem to insist that one's salvation is dependent on one's theological understanding of the same. If that conscious theological understanding is not a "work," then what is?)
36“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:36 NASB
Most excellent citation! You see here a contrast between two groups of people: those who "believe in the Son" and those who "do not obey the Son". Notice that "belief" is contrasted with "disobedience," implying that those who "believe" authentically also "obey". (Notice that "faith alone," without the corresponding "obedience," doesn't seem to count for much.)
But this only describes two categories of people. It doesn't address the question of persons who don't know the Son (through no fault of their own) and so can't *consciously* believe in the Son, though their lives may be ordered in docility toward God such that they would be "obedient" to the Son if they understood the necessity for that, and actually are obedient to him to the extent that they understand that obedience.
Can such persons be saved? If God so wills, they can. If they are saved, they are saved through the merits of Christ, even though they may not have the grace of consciously understanding that.
Perhaps you should read Romans 1. None are without excuse.