API Connection from Provider

I'd like to connect Statamic CMS with my Laravel app and grab some data via the Content API. In my HelperServiceProvider (I also tried AppServiceProvider.php) I have this code:

$footerNav = CMSConnect::getJsonData("/cms/collections/pages/entries");

My Service file looks like this:

    public static function getJsonData($endpoint)
    {
        $connection = config('app.url').$endpoint;

        if (App::environment('local')) {
            $response = Http::withOptions(['verify' => false])->get($connection);
        } else {
            $response = Http::get($connection);
        }

        if ($response->successful()) {
            return $response->json()['data'];
        }
    }

When I load this page, it takes about a minute and returns a "504 Gateway Time-out". Is it not possible to make an API connection that "early" in the code, or why am I not getting any data here? The endpoint works perfectly fine when I use the same code within any Controller.