Had the same problem with N9 that I purchased about a month ago - Drive would just sit on the splash screen (icon and refresh symbol) and nothing would happen.

During the initial phone set up, I had changed the N9 to EN-US options for all language/regional options and text input.

I wasn't took keen on reformatting my device, since it was only a month old.

My issue appeared to be that the phone needs to have the EN-UK text input library installed and active for Drive's first launch. After setting the text input options (not language) to EN-UK and as active method, Drive could then launch successfully. I was then able to change the text input back to EN-US and still use Drive.

Just figured this might help someone else with similar problems and also avoiding a reformat.