diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/metadata/metadata_sync.c b/src/backend/distributed/metadata/metadata_sync.c
index f73856169..8ae295f17 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/metadata/metadata_sync.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/metadata/metadata_sync.c
@@ -2962,7 +2962,7 @@ SyncNodeMetadataToNodesOptional(void)
 		/* we fetch the same node again to check if it's synced or not */
 		WorkerNode *nodeUpdated = FindWorkerNode(workerNode->workerName,
 												 workerNode->workerPort);
-		if (!nodeUpdated->metadataSynced)
+		if (nodeUpdated == NULL || !nodeUpdated->metadataSynced)
 		{
 			/* set the result to FAILED to trigger the sync again */
 			result = NODE_METADATA_SYNC_FAILED_SYNC;
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/operations/worker_node_manager.c b/src/backend/distributed/operations/worker_node_manager.c
index 8a4245ca0..219104042 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/operations/worker_node_manager.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/operations/worker_node_manager.c
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ ActiveReadableNodeCount(void)
  * NodeIsCoordinator returns true if the given node represents the coordinator.
  */
 bool
-NodeIsCoordinator(WorkerNode *node)
+NodeIsCoordinator(const WorkerNode *node)
 {
 	return node->groupId == COORDINATOR_GROUP_ID;
 }
@@ -354,6 +354,9 @@ CompareWorkerNodes(const void *leftElement, const void *rightElement)
  * WorkerNodeCompare compares two worker nodes by their host name and port
  * number. Two nodes that only differ by their rack locations are considered to
  * be equal to each other.
+ *
+ * This function also makes sure that coordinator nodes are always considered
+ * lexicographically smaller than other worker nodes.
  */
 int
 WorkerNodeCompare(const void *lhsKey, const void *rhsKey, Size keySize)
@@ -361,6 +364,15 @@ WorkerNodeCompare(const void *lhsKey, const void *rhsKey, Size keySize)
 	const WorkerNode *workerLhs = (const WorkerNode *) lhsKey;
 	const WorkerNode *workerRhs = (const WorkerNode *) rhsKey;
 
+	if (NodeIsCoordinator(workerLhs))
+	{
+		return -1;
+	}
+	if (NodeIsCoordinator(workerRhs))
+	{
+		return 1;
+	}
+
 	return NodeNamePortCompare(workerLhs->workerName, workerRhs->workerName,
 							   workerLhs->workerPort, workerRhs->workerPort);
 }
diff --git a/src/include/distributed/worker_manager.h b/src/include/distributed/worker_manager.h
index 02a43fe0b..fa08f44c7 100644
--- a/src/include/distributed/worker_manager.h
+++ b/src/include/distributed/worker_manager.h
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ extern bool NodeIsPrimaryAndRemote(WorkerNode *worker);
 extern bool NodeIsPrimary(WorkerNode *worker);
 extern bool NodeIsSecondary(WorkerNode *worker);
 extern bool NodeIsReadable(WorkerNode *worker);
-extern bool NodeIsCoordinator(WorkerNode *node);
+extern bool NodeIsCoordinator(const WorkerNode *node);
 extern WorkerNode * SetWorkerColumn(WorkerNode *workerNode, int columnIndex, Datum value);
 extern WorkerNode * SetWorkerColumnOptional(WorkerNode *workerNode, int columnIndex, Datum
 											value);