Hey there, and welcome to Apple Support Communities Ronnysnake,
We can certainly understand your concern and can help provide some insight.
We recommend checking out these steps on how to download your iCloud Drive files and see if it matches up with your procedures.
" If you're about to go offline, you can download iCloud Drive files locally to work on while you're not connected to the internet.
On your Mac
- Click iCloud Drive in the sidebar of any Finder window.
- Open the file, or control-click the file, then select Download Now.
- Any changes you make to the file will automatically upload to iCloud Drive when you're back online.
On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
- Open the Files app.
- Go to the file that you want to store on your device.
- Tap the file to download it, or touch and hold the file, then choose Download .
- Any changes you make to the file will automatically upload to iCloud Drive when you're back online.
On iCloud.com
- Sign in to iCloud.com.
- Open iCloud Drive.
- Find and select the file.
- Click Download at the top of the page or double-click the file. The document downloads to your default downloads location.
- After making changes to the file, upload the saved copy back to iCloud Drive on a computer.
On your PC
If you turned on iCloud Drive using iCloud for Windows on a PC, you can pin a file or folder to keep it downloaded to your device. Any changes you make to the file will automatically upload to iCloud Drive when you're back online. "
For additional information, check out this link: Access and manage your files in iCloud Drive - Apple Support
These steps will help ensure your device is working with ease and can fix common issues like the ones you’re experiencing.
Kindest regards!