diff --git a/connmgr/connmanager.go b/connmgr/connmanager.go
index c3369a22d1..7a53ed9f1d 100644
--- a/connmgr/connmanager.go
+++ b/connmgr/connmanager.go
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ func (c *ConnReq) State() ConnState {
 
 // String returns a human-readable string for the connection request.
 func (c *ConnReq) String() string {
-	if c.Addr.String() == "" {
+	if c.Addr == nil || c.Addr.String() == "" {
 		return fmt.Sprintf("reqid %d", atomic.LoadUint64(&c.id))
 	}
 	return fmt.Sprintf("%s (reqid %d)", c.Addr, atomic.LoadUint64(&c.id))