Please forgive my lack of clarity on my previous post.
the path I detailed was location on HDD for where Steam places EQ2.
so full path on Linux install correctly stated is:
{separated for clarity}
/ home
/ %USERNAME%
/ .steam
/ debian-installation
/ steamapps
/ common
/ EverQuest 2
/ UI
/ EQ2MAP
no change to eq2.ini file in EverQuest 2 root as shown:
cl_ui_subdir UI/
cl_ui_skinname EQ2MAP
in-game maps display as expected!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ASSISTANCE!!!