https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/9ad6f14175c19b5d47267c3dd5840c14bad43c83/src/validation.cpp#L3711

If i'm following right the flow of the code, when we hit this lane `pindex` should be always equal to nullptr thus this check may be omitted
{
    AssertLockHeld(cs_main);
    
    bool needs_init = fReindex;
    if (!fReindex) {
        bool ret = LoadBlockIndexDB(*this, chainparams);
        if (!ret) return false;
        needs_init = m_blockman.m_block_index.empty();
    }
    if (needs_init) {
        
        
        
        
        
        LogPrintf("Initializing databases...\n");
    }
    return true;
}
bool CChainState::LoadGenesisBlock(const CChainParams& chainparams)