Can the bar say something else when the shopper is nearly there?

Yes. Bar → Wording → Almost there takes the place of both in-progress messages once the cart reaches a share of the free shipping amount, 80% unless you change Show “Almost there” from (%) (50 to 95). It reads Almost there! Just {remaining} more for free shipping. until you write your own, in your site's language, and changes with the cart without a page load. Empty the box to turn it off.