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Jax came from humble origins. His mother was a nurse while his father worked as a firefighter. His upbringing was fairly normal, as he had a good relationship with both parents growing up. He took an interest in music early on, his parents buying him his first guitar when he was 8. Though his parents were affectionate towards their son, occasional tension would rise as Jax’s dad was in a dangerous profession. His fathers line of work would require him to be on call, often missing special events or just family time in general. His father would miss his son's birthday one too many times.This would serve as a wedge between Jax and his father. Things would only worsen as Jax grew older. Jax had expressed interest in pursuing music as a career. The boy would enlist in the local talent show to perform for the very first time. His father promised he would attend, as nothing else was more important.

When the time for the show came, Jax began to experience stage fright. He looked for his father amongst the crowd. His father was not there. He waited as long as he could but alas, he was unable to perform and ran off the stage. When his father came home, he apologized to his son. He had missed the event due to a work related emergency. This did little to mend the situation as Jax felt he had chosen his work over his family. He attempted to reason with Jax, he would make it up to him next time. Jax was not having any of it. In a fit of rage, he even smashed his guitar. The event would make the relationship between Jax and his father plummet. Despite his fathers efforts to rekindle their relationship, Jax believed his father didn't care enough about his family. In the following years, Jax distanced himself emotionally.

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On his 14th birthday, Jax's father planned to celebrate alongside his family. Jax on the other hand didn’t even show. He spent his time with his friends instead. Jax would come home the next day to find his parents waiting for him as they hadn't heard from him at all. Jax shrugged them off, triggering an argument. He would then shut himself in his room for the remainder of the day. His father would then get called in for work. Even though he had a falling out with his son, he sympathized with Jax’s emotions. He knocked on Jax's door, explaining that he understood why he was lashing out. Jax refused to answer, remaining quiet as his father spoke. He hoped that when he comes back they could talk about it. Ending it with “I love you, son.” Little did Jax know, he would regret not speaking, as this was the final conversation he would have with his father.

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The following day, Jax's father had not returned. Jax was unbothered, as he had already been used to his father not being able to keep his promises. That night, his mother would receive the tragic news that Jax’s father died while attempting to rescue civilians. When she broke the news, Jax took it as a bad joke. Once he realized it wasn't, he was immediately devastated. Jax would take the loss of his father immensely hard. He had felt guilty for everything, every single bad memory eating away at his heart as he grieved. Jax couldn't fathom how to overcome this. The day of the funeral, Jax’s mother gave him the birthday present his father had gotten him. A new guitar. This shattered Jax, as he broke down in tears. As the years passed, Jax would slowly accept his fathers death. However, Jax’s immense feelings of guilt and resentment for his own actions would remain like a chain weighing down his heart.