How do I know if a generator is empty from the start?

If you need to know before you use the generator, then no, there is no simple way. If you can wait until after you have used the generator, there is a simple way:

was_empty = True

for some_item in some_generator:
    was_empty = False
    do_something_with(some_item)

if was_empty:
    handle_already_empty_generator_case()