diff --git a/pkg/runtimes/docker/node.go b/pkg/runtimes/docker/node.go
index cefd2b4f..27867e05 100644
--- a/pkg/runtimes/docker/node.go
+++ b/pkg/runtimes/docker/node.go
@@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ func (d Docker) GetNodeLogs(ctx context.Context, node *k3d.Node, since time.Time
 func (d Docker) ExecInNodeGetLogs(ctx context.Context, node *k3d.Node, cmd []string) (*bufio.Reader, error) {
 	resp, err := executeInNode(ctx, node, cmd)
 	if err != nil {
-		if resp.Reader != nil { // sometimes the exec process returns with a non-zero exit code, but we still have the logs we
+		if resp != nil && resp.Reader != nil { // sometimes the exec process returns with a non-zero exit code, but we still have the logs we
 			return resp.Reader, err
 		}
 		return nil, err