3 way switch problem

Hi all; new to he forum and need advise about 3 way switch wiring. Long story short was attempting to move a 3 way light fixture and when I removed the mud ring, I discovered that there were 18 wires crammed into a 4 X 4 work box. I am not a novice to electrical work and have done several 3 way switch installs. So the problem I am having is when I removed the switches and attempted to locate the hot wire & travelers, I put power to one of the wires in the switch box, and all 3 wires became hot. So I then attempted to switch the power to the other switch box and all 3 of the wires then became hot. Both switches were removed when I attempted to do this. So I found this awesome forum and discovered a thread from Aguerdan dated 11-19-19 and he had the same problem, which was a “California” 3 way and the travelers were hot. So I read the whole thread and he never said how he solved the problem. I assume I will have to pull new 12-3 wires ( no neutrals) in the switch box, and use the neutral wire for a traveler. I can get a neutral in the attic for the fixture. Any help would be great. Thx Shawn.