diff --git a/backend/iclouddrive/iclouddrive.go b/backend/iclouddrive/iclouddrive.go
index 3c78e3bce..a2e6cbc87 100644
--- a/backend/iclouddrive/iclouddrive.go
+++ b/backend/iclouddrive/iclouddrive.go
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ func (f *Fs) findItem(ctx context.Context, dir string) (item *api.DriveItem, fou
 		item, resp, err = f.service.GetItemByPath(ctx, path.Join(f.root, dir))
 		return shouldRetry(ctx, resp, err)
 	}); err != nil {
-		if item == nil && resp.StatusCode == 404 {
+		if item == nil && resp != nil && resp.StatusCode == 404 {
 			return nil, false, nil
 		}
 		return nil, false, err