missing folders on MacBook

For basics, you could start up Mac from off, into Safe mode.

• How to use Safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262

That should check & perform minor repairs. Then restart in

normal, without shift key held. Hard to say to what extent

there may be w/contributing factors. macOS recovery can

be useful to troubleshoot or repair via macOS Utilities.

Various tools & utilities can be accessed via Reinstall macOS.

Not sure if you could resolve issues by use NVRAM reset.

Good luck & happy trails!🌞🐝

That takes on another meaning. If it were 'homework' other plausible things may

have been at work; but Gmail? My gmail is used like web mail ~ via secure browser.

• Google Mail - google help

https://support.google.com/mail/?ctx=about#topic=7065107

Only issues lately with my gmail have been 'slow and lagging'. Cause of yours? likely

is very different. ~ The core to Gmail via Apple Mail (if you use one to access other)

could involve Google Help. There may be hints in their Help.

Another way around could be to search the Mac. Not sure how, in this case.

My issue probably relates to Browser itself. -- Yours: lost in Apple Mail?!

Not sure if a login via browser to gmail could help recover something deleted from

Google server. They offer an archive feature; in gmail account, seldom have used it.

Sorry, I'm at a loss.. And was heading across town just now.

Take care & happy trails!🌻🐌

A suggestion to consider, may be to look into iCloud Drive to see if copies of missing

folders, documents, etc could be hiding there. ~ While possible, this may be a stretch..!

The path these could have taken, may take similar to this:

"..Check to see if: System Prefs> iCloud> iCloud Drive ~ got enabled somehow ~

and moved everything to iCloud Drive.."

Hopefully something, or another, will work. (+Not sure if any 'gmail archives' were saved.)

In any event, good luck!🌞