I think the earlier you begin to make peace with the obvious fact that you most probably do not have even have an iota of chance of getting it back "just as the below quoted post from a Mod supposed" the better, and considering that users whose accounts never got banned, but only hacked then locked, and posses the appropriate requirements to unlock them are barely getting their accounts back makes it almost impossible to get it back.
The fact that your account was banned for distributing malware makes it unlikely that it will ever get recovered. So, yeah, just a heads up in case you're still hoping.
All that being said, I believe not getting the account back won't deter your relevance or the impact you can make on the forum. but I really do wish if there is ever any chance that you do get your account back.