Hi @jfaz ...
I can see why this is confusing. If you have added instructions under the "Instructions" heading of your New Quiz when building your quiz, if you click on the "Preview" button in the New Quiz, it looks like the instructions appear above the start of the first question. However, also try this...
Exit out of your New Quiz, click on your "Home" button, and then click on the "Student View" button at the top right corner of the screen. Then, while in Student View, go to your New Quiz. You will see the title of your New Quiz along with the instructions for the quiz, but then there will be a "Begin" button for the quiz (before a student actually would see the questions). Once that button is clicked, students would see the name of the New Quiz, the instructions again, and then the questions below it.
So, in my testing, students do, in fact, see the instructions before they would start the quiz...and then they see the instructions again to refer to as they answer the questions.
This is illustrated under the heading "View Quiz" in this Guide: How do I take a quiz in New Quizzes? - Instructure Community (canvaslms.com)
I hope this helps a bit! Sing out if you have any questions...thanks!