It could be anything between the Docker daemon in Docker Desktop’s VM and Docker Hub. If mobile hotspot or VPN helps, it probably cannot be in Docker Desktop. It couldn’t be a local router either, because that couldn’t be solved by NordVPN. If your IP is blocked somewhere, I would assume everything failing without successfully downloading some layers. Maybe it could be your internet provider limiting traffic or certain requests or anything between the gateway of the ISP and Docker Hub. The latter is more likely as limiting traffic would affect VPN too, unless it depends on the type of package which cannot be checked through a VPN.
There is an allowlist of hosts that Docker Desktop has to access. Part of the list would apply to Docker Daemon as well. If you want, you can try to use traceroute or tracepath on these domains:
Domains Description https://registry-1.docker.io Docker Pull/Push https://production.cloudflare.docker.com Docker Pull/Push (Paid plans) https://docker-images-prod.6aa30f8b08e16409b46e0173d6de2f56.r2.cloudflarestorage.com Docker Pull/Push (Personal plan / Anonymous)
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