FORTNITE: Always a connection error on the first try

Whenever I play FORTNITE (Battle Royale), it fails to join a game on the first try.

On the second try, it succeeds.

I get to the load screen, and the progress bar doesn’t move.

Finally, after a minute or two it times out and some variation of this error message is displayed:

I’m playing on a Mac, so it’s possible Apple is doing something to screw with FN intentionally because of their current legal battle. (This is why Save The World mode doesn’t work, for example.) But if this is caused by something else, and can be fixed by changing a setting (either in FN or in macOS, I would like to resolve this.

Finally, I’m not sure if this is related, but I keep on getting item screens offering me… nothing. I have the choice to either equip this nothing, or go to the next screen. Either way, I get nothing.

If anyone experiencing similar issues knows of a resolution, please share.