diff --git a/esm.mjs b/esm.mjs
index d5139c1aa..e2c41d3b6 100644
--- a/esm.mjs
+++ b/esm.mjs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { fileURLToPath } from 'url';
 import { createRequire } from 'module';
+import { versionGteLt } from './dist/util.js';
 const require = createRequire(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
 
 /** @type {import('./dist/esm')} */
@@ -7,7 +8,11 @@ const esm = require('./dist/esm');
 export const { resolve, load, getFormat, transformSource } = esm.registerAndCreateEsmHooks();
 
 // Affordance for node 20, where load() happens in an isolated thread
+const offThreadLoader = versionGteLt(process.versions.node, '20.0.0');
 export const globalPreload = () => {
+  if (!offThreadLoader) {
+    return '';
+  }
   const self = fileURLToPath(import.meta.url);
   return `
 const { createRequire } = getBuiltin('module');