The short answer, KOC, is that the player always drives his Hands (Lag Pressure) toward the Ball (6-G-0). But as your post suggests, there is more to learn here.
In full Pivot Strokes (Maximum Swing Radius), the Centrifugal Downstroke Sequence (6-M-1) (of both the Pivot and the Power Package) is a chain reaction from the Feet up. The work of Educated Hands is to sense and align this Force. And proper alignment of the Hands and their Down Plane Delivery Path requires that the Right Hip 'Clear' from the Top. In this sense, the work of the Pivot is reactive to the intended purpose of the Hands -- to precisely propel their Load Down Plane (6-E-2-1) -- even though it does, in fact, initiate the Action.
So what do the Hands do from the Top? First, they continue their Grip function as Clamps (for controlling Clubface alignments) and, also, their On Plane alignment functions (aiming the Lag Pressure). Then, they begin their drive toward the Ball. However, during the Start Down and even during the Downstroke, they will feel as though they remain at the Top of the Stroke. That is because they enjoy a fixed relationship with the Right Shoulder during the Pivot's Delivery of the Power Package into Release (6-K-0), and there is no independent motion of the Hands until they have been delivered to the Release Point.
In other words, if the Hands are at Top -- Right Shoulder high and On Plane - and the Right Shoulder moves Down Plane (as pulled by the Hip Turn and its Action) then the Hands will feel 'in the same place,' namely, in their same fixed relationship with the Right Shoulder. Only when the Hands begin their move away from the Right Shoulder and the Right Arm thus begins to straighten in Release will the player experience their independent motion.
OF ALL THE 4000 PLUS POSTS THAT MR. LYNN BLAKE HAS WRITTEN . . . THIS COULD IN FACT BE THE BEST ONE. STANDING O!!!