I don't know how widespread this phenomenon is but in the book Do Not Erase [0] it seems that there are quite a few prominent mathematicians who do use visual representations in their work.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_Not_Erase:_Mathematicians_a...

There is this long-running (and quite fascinating I think) debate about the different "types" of mathematical thinking. Logical vs Intuitive, Geometric vs Algebraic etc. Can't recall where exactly but I remember reading about a 19th century mathematician that crowed they had not a single figure in their masterpiece.

Visualization is probably not a silver bullet but a lot of people are visual thinkers so maybe it would help a few more to reach a higher level in mathematical thinking.