diff --git a/build/deploy/cockroach.sh b/build/deploy/cockroach.sh
index 17ae9b4cceef..ac3380329a84 100755
--- a/build/deploy/cockroach.sh
+++ b/build/deploy/cockroach.sh
@@ -298,7 +298,7 @@ _main() {
 set_env_var "COCKROACH_ARGS"
 
 if [[ -n "$COCKROACH_ARGS" ]]; then
-  _main "$COCKROACH_ARGS"
+  _main $COCKROACH_ARGS
 else
   _main "$@"
 fi