diff --git a/crates/egui/src/input_state/mod.rs b/crates/egui/src/input_state/mod.rs
index fd3e78a2..a3ebf532 100644
--- a/crates/egui/src/input_state/mod.rs
+++ b/crates/egui/src/input_state/mod.rs
@@ -1465,7 +1465,10 @@ impl PointerState {
         }
 
         if let Some(pos) = self.hover_pos() {
-            return rect.intersects_ray(pos, self.direction());
+            let dir = self.direction();
+            if dir != Vec2::ZERO {
+                return rect.intersects_ray(pos, self.direction());
+            }
         }
         false
     }
diff --git a/crates/emath/src/rect.rs b/crates/emath/src/rect.rs
index dc63315b..777c1252 100644
--- a/crates/emath/src/rect.rs
+++ b/crates/emath/src/rect.rs
@@ -651,7 +651,7 @@ impl Rect {
     pub fn intersects_ray(&self, o: Pos2, d: Vec2) -> bool {
         debug_assert!(
             d.is_normalized(),
-            "expected normalized direction, but `d` has length {}",
+            "Debug assert: expected normalized direction, but `d` has length {}",
             d.length()
         );