add_filter('woocommerce_cart_needs_shipping_address', '__return_true');
add_filter('woocommerce_order_needs_shipping_address', '__return_true');

function my_custom_shipping_fields($fields) {
    foreach ($fields as $key => $field) {
        if (stristr($key, 'shipping_')) {
            $fields[$key]['required'] = FALSE; // Also tried unsetting the field
        }
    }
}

add_action('woocommerce_after_checkout_shipping_form', 'my_form_config');

function my_form_config($checkout) {
    ?>
        <script>
            jQuery('div.woocommerce-shipping-fields__field-wrapper abbr.required').remove();
        </script>
    <?php
}