diff --git a/gateway/src/node/client_handling/websocket/connection_handler/fresh.rs b/gateway/src/node/client_handling/websocket/connection_handler/fresh.rs
index b7fe12fc3a..78a1598216 100644
--- a/gateway/src/node/client_handling/websocket/connection_handler/fresh.rs
+++ b/gateway/src/node/client_handling/websocket/connection_handler/fresh.rs
@@ -922,12 +922,14 @@ impl<R, S> FreshHandler<R, S> {
         S: AsyncRead + AsyncWrite + Unpin + Send,
         R: CryptoRng + RngCore + Send,
     {
-        let shutdown = self.shutdown.clone();
+        let mut loop_iter: usize = 0;
         loop {
-            if shutdown.is_cancelled() {
-                trace!("received cancellation before authentication");
-                return None;
-            }
+            loop_iter += 1;
+            debug!(
+                remote = %self.peer_address,
+                iteration = loop_iter,
+                "running loop"
+            );
 
             let req = self.wait_for_initial_message().await;
             let initial_request = match req {