I've had them hidden since day one as well, and they have never re-appeared for me. YouTube 'influencers' are nothing more than grifters and attention you-know-whats. The extremely small amount of people who I follow on YouTube do not do it as their sole form of income (if any at all) and have never (to my knowledge) done sponsored videos. They have real jobs and contribute to society. They are real, they are authentic and they provide information first and their opinions second. I do not care what that gamer bro doofus Linus thinks, the Apple lover bimbo or the phone guy that created a $20 wallpaper app. These 'influencers' are so fake, phony and narcissistic.
Ever since Google stepped up their war on ad blockers I've been trying to spend more time on YouTube. UBlock Orgin Lite and the original UBlock do a great job at blocking ads still. Since I'm a free loading leach, Google would prefer I take my ball and go home and not waste their resources, but I'll just use it more out of spite. But there is way too much AI slop out there.