Concerned my itinerary might not have warranted JR pass

Hello. I have recently bought a JR pass but have not yet arrived in Japan to activate it. I arranged for it to be sent to my hostel in Kyoto. As I am flying into Osaka I wull be taking a train to Kyoto.

No.1 Is there any way I can use the pass for the Osaka-Kyoto journey even tbough I won't physically have it until I arrive at my hostel in Kyoto?

No. 2 I am concerned I will not use the sufficiently while in Japan to have warrented buying it. Would you please look at my itiberary over the 7 days to see if you think I will get enough use from the pass:

Kyoto to Shirakawa-go (near Takayama or Kanazawa)
Then to Matsumoto
Matsumoto to Hakuba
Hakuba to Tokyo

If you think I will not make use of the pass for the above itinerary, is there a possibility of a refund before I activate it?
Thank you. Martin (from Ireland 🇨🇮)