diff --git a/nodes.py b/nodes.py
index 9c541eba..a230f725 100644
--- a/nodes.py
+++ b/nodes.py
@@ -232,8 +232,9 @@ class ConditioningZeroOut:
         c = []
         for t in conditioning:
             d = t[1].copy()
-            if "pooled_output" in d:
-                d["pooled_output"] = torch.zeros_like(d["pooled_output"])
+            pooled_output = d.get("pooled_output", None)
+            if pooled_output is not None:
+                d["pooled_output"] = torch.zeros_like(pooled_output)
             n = [torch.zeros_like(t[0]), d]
             c.append(n)
         return (c, )