How did illness during service in the Indian Ocean affect Horatio Nelson?

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Horatio Nelson Lord Nelson, detail of an oil painting by J.F. Rigaud; in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, Eng.

During his early service in the Indian Ocean, Horatio Nelson was struck by a severe fever, likely malaria, which forced him to be invalided home.1

This illness had a profound psychological impact on him; while recovering from the resulting depression, Nelson experienced a significant surge of optimism. This moment served as a turning point in his life, as his ambition—fueled by patriotism and the Christian compassion taught by his father—was ignited, driving him to prove his worth and strive to equal the achievements of his eminent kinsmen.1