Struggling with iCloud Drive: How Can I Download My Data Efficiently?

I've been relying on iCloud Drive to store over a terabyte of my creative project files, like photos, client work, and documents. Now that I need to download everything, I've been hitting wall after wall with this system. Here's the deal: you can't download folders from iCloud Drive at all. Everything has to be downloaded one file at a time, and even when you select all, the downloads often fail, making it a nightmare to keep track of what's missing.

I've tried everything possible—different browsers, devices, networks—and even contacted Apple Support, but they just said, 'That's how it works.' I'm spending weeks manually re-downloading thousands of files and it's costing me big time. When I attempted to sync locally, my macOS filled my drive with cached data that I can't manage. Apple won't help since my Mac is deemed 'vintage,' even with the same model still being sold.

So I'm reaching out to see if anyone has found a workaround for downloading entire iCloud Drive folders or automating this process. Are there any third-party tools or scripts that could ease this pain? Is there a quicker or more reliable way to retrieve my data? I really want to avoid losing more time over this!