As in ring the network (presumably on a third, working phone) and wait for them to post you something? Doesn’t sound like a great user experience!
No, they issue it virtually. Then you download it via their app or via regular cell network provisioning.
download it via their app
On the phone that isn’t connecting to the internet, because it doen’t have a SIM yet? Or do eSIM phones use free internet before they have an eSIM issued?
In the store if you’re getting the phone from a store, or somewhere with wifi (home, a friend’s, a cafe) if you’ve gotten it some other way.
If you don’t have any of those, you probably live way out in the jungle, and I’d be surprised if you had service even if you got the eSIM. But in the edge case that you somehow got home delivery postal service in the jungle, you’d probably be able to survive just fine without it until your next trip into town.
In the extreme edge case that you are in the jungle, get service, and your need is critical, I would have an activated backup phone tested periodically and ready to go.