I'm surprised that no one has mentioned a solution such as the one offered by the Tabify plugin (https://wordpress.org/plugins/tabify-edit-screen/). I haven't used it yet, but I'm planning on trying it out. I like the idea that meta boxes aren't cluttering up the edit screen but are still easily accessible via tabs at the top of the page. And this way the edit screen remains completely distraction-free without loss of space or endless scrolling. This could be the simple solution that would please a lot of different types of users, especially if tabs can be controlled via user roles...