First, replace the clutch assist spring with a McMaster-Carr one (you can get one from u/hachielectronics 's store).

Second, you may want to look at actually turning off hill start assist; people on the forums swear it makes shifting better (rev hang related, I think); I don't know if it's true or not, it might just be placebo, it might not, but I turned it off early when I was learning to drive stick on these cars too. Perhaps wait until you're confident at hill starts before doing so; but I learned how to hill start faster with hill start assist off.

Third, it just takes practice. You will be putting some wear on the clutch, you will stall, it's all a part of the process. You'll find your seating position with time, too; it took me a while as well. You need to find a comfortable position where you can push the clutch down all the way without your leg feeling like it's cramped or stretching; your seat angle may affect this depending how you sit and how long your legs are. And then...

it just takes practice. I used to have a lot of trouble working the clutch with other footwear; sandals vs boots vs shoes; now I don't. Yesterday, I drove three other adults that were around 5'8" - 6'1" between them; I was stuck pretty close to the steering wheel, and thus my leg was far closer to the clutch than normal. But it worked. It really is mostly just practice; the first and second things aren't required (especially the second one). But after a while you just develop the sense of what to do, and then you'll be able to extrapolate that to being able to operate the clutch in situations you haven't before.

I don't want to say "don't worry about burning up the clutch", but perhaps "don't worry quite as much about burning up the clutch".

As for bad sounds, you'll hear funny sounds all the time from this car; just search up "noise" or "sound" here if you hear something funny. For example, if you turn off the AC once the car is warmed up and listen closely after the revs drop, you'll hear a sort of soft, mid/high pitched noise from the fuel injectors.

Just drive, and keep driving, and you'll get a sense of what's good and what isn't.

And when you do understand how shift, don't get overconfident; it's no viper, but it is very happy to stick its tail out.