Is there any (known) way to have Arxiv waive the endorsement requirement? I’m trying to submit a preprint of my paper to the Arxiv as an independent researcher. My academic background is in theoretical physics; I have a PhD in physics, did a postdoc, published several papers in Physical Review and PRL before taking a job in industry. I’ve been working in industry ever since, so I do not currently have an affiliation (i.e. an .edu email). I’ve spent the past few years working on my research project independently, and I’d like to submit to the Arxiv and have the community review my results.

I’m currently stuck at the “not endorsed” step. I’ve reached out to qualified endorsers in my subject per the Arxiv’s endorsement process but got no replies. I then contacted the moderation to appeal, but they rejected with what seems like a template reply (“We insist submitters be affiliated...”)

Given my situation, I am wondering if there is any known way to make the Arxiv waive the requirement of endorsement? For example, does the Arxiv make an exception for former academic researchers who have previous publications in peer-reviewed journals?
Just to check, your first request for endorsement emails were hopefully to your thesis advisor/postdoc advisor. If they haven't gotten back to you, either you definitely haven't waited long enough or there may be some other issue (they don't want you to submit to arxiv without them looking at it first?).
Worth looking to see if there are other ways to get a .edu address. If you are a researcher in a relevant industry, you could potentially get some degree of honorary affiliation with a local university just by asking the right people. However, this is probably much harder than getting an endorser! You should also look into your PhD and undergraduate school's policies: many offer "alumni" email addresses that are .edu - but I'm not sure if this is sufficient for arxiv's purposes.